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Women’s health & fitness guide

Fibroids are a condition in which growths are found in the women’s reproductive system; while many women will not ever know they are there some women will experience symptoms ranging from heavy bleeding and pain to infertility problems and incontinence.

What exactly are fibroids?

Fibroids are growths or benign tumours that grow in the reproductive system, more commonly the womb; they are made up of muscle fibre and range in size from that of a pea to as big as a water melon. Experts think that around 30 to 50% of all women will suffer from this condition at some time in their lives though the condition is seen more in women around the age of 30 and very rarely in women under the age of 20.

What causes fibroids?

The exact cause of fibroids is unknown though oestrogen does seem to have some influence on them, recent studies have also shown that fibroids appear in black women more than they do in white but the reason for this is unknown. They also appear in women who are overweight more than women of correct weight for their height.

The different types of fibroids

Fibroids are generally categorised by where they are actually growing in the womb and these types are:

• Intramural – the fibroids in this category grow in the wall of the womb and these are the most common type of fibroid.
• Subserous – these are located in the outer layer of the womb and are sometimes found to grow on stalks, this type of fibroid can grow to be very large.
• Submucous – these develop in the muscles underneath the lining of the womb, they can also grow into the womb and grow on stalks, if they grow long enough they can even reach through the cervix.
• Cervical – these grow in the neck of the womb and are the most difficult ones to remove.

How you can prevent fibroids

As doctors don’t really know what causes fibroids in the first place it is difficult to say for sure how you can prevent them but studies have suggested that there are some things you could do which might help to prevent them, these are:

• Keep to the correct weight for your height.
• Eat plenty of green vegetables and fresh fruit, avoiding red meat if possible, a recent study in Italy showed that women who didn’t eat a lot of meat but ate lots of fruit and vegetables were less likely to develop fibroids.